1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reduction inhibitory agent for active-oxygen eliminating activity, uses of the same, and a method for inhibiting the reduction of the active-oxygen eliminating activity, and more particularly to a reduction inhibitory agent for active-oxygen eliminating activity, which comprises trehalose as an effective ingredient, uses of the same as compositions obtainable by incorporating the inhibitory agent into plant edible substances and/or plant antioxidants, and a method for inhibiting the reduction of active-oxygen eliminating activity of plant substances.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known that plant edible substances such as vegetables, mushrooms, and layers are important for living bodies as sources of functional ingredients such as vitamins, minerals, and edible fibers, and are essential food materials for the growth of living bodies. Recently, these edible plants have become to be more focused on their active-oxygen eliminating activity that relates deeply to the maintenance and promotion of health, the prevention of aging and geriatric diseases, and the inhibition of carcinogenesis. Mechanism for the cause of aging of living bodies and related diseases thereof such as cancers, arteriosclerosis, liver cirrhosis, myocardial infarction, cerebral apoplexy, cataract, Parkinson disease, rheumatism, and Alzheimer's dementia as incurable diseases are still remained unknown in many aspects. However, the mechanism of such incurable diseases has come to be considered; active-oxygens such as superoxide which is an oxygen having unpaired electron and relatively-high reactivity, and its derivatives including hydroxyradical and hydrogen peroxide oxidize, oxidize intracellular target molecules such as membrane lipids, proteins, and DNAs to induce oxygen-related defective and to cause aging of living bodies and related diseases thereof.
Enzymes capable of eliminating active-oxygen such as superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1) and catalase (EC 1.11.1.6), and antioxidants such as L-ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol exist in living cells, and the concentration of intracellular active-oxygen is kept generally to an extremely-low level. However, it is considered that irradiation of relatively-large amount of ultraviolet rays, radiations, and magnetic waves; excessive physical exercises; strong mental stresses; and aging would form active-oxygen in an amount that can not be eliminated by active-oxygen-eliminating activity of living bodies, resulting in an accumulation of compounds oxidized by the excessive amount of active-oxygen and causing the aforesaid oxygen-related defective. To improve the problem, for example, Japanese Patent Kokai Nos. 168,435/93 and 143,466/96 proposed methods which comprise supplementing to living bodies active-oxygen eliminating activity, which is easy to shortage, to promote the maintenance and promotion of health of living bodies by using a relatively-high active-oxygen eliminating activity of edible plants. It was confirmed that even if such edible plants were used, processings such as juice extracting, extracting, heating, and drying, and successive storage conditions for the plants may lower the inherent active-oxygen eliminating activity or even extinguish the activity completely. It has been expected to establish a novel method for inhibiting the reduction of active-oxygen eliminating activity without causing serious side effects in living bodies.